NEW YORK – The Columbia wrestling team (3-3) will be in
action Friday night, taking on the Bucknell Bison (3-7) in Lewisburg, Pa. Match
time inside of Davis Gym between the EIWA foes is slated for 7 p.m.

The Lions last competed Jan. 6 at the Cal Poly Mustang Duals
in San Luis Opisbo, Calif. Columbia went 2-1 at the event with victories over
Cal Poly and San Francisco State. A duo of Columbia grapplers, Josh Houlsdworth
(165 pounds) and No. 17/-Stephen West (174 pounds), went 3-0, while Nick Mills
(197 pounds) went 2-0, at the event.

Columbia was also represented at the Franklin & Marshall
Open Jan. 5. Wrestling at 184 pounds, Shane Hughes reeled off four wins,
including two pins, to capture the title. First-year Angelo Amenta places
fourth at 141 pounds, while Connor Sutton claimed fifth at 157 pounds at the
F&M Open.

Bucknell enters Friday’s contest sporting a 3-7 overall mark
after dropping two of three matches at Virginia Duals on Jan. 11-12. The Bison
dropped matches to No. 11 Virginia and then No. 25 Old Dominion, but toppled
Buffalo. Heavyweight Joe Stolfi won each of his three matches at the Virginia
Duals, while No. 15/9 Corey Lear won his only match at 165 pounds against Old
Dominion’s Brett Miller to improve to 17-3 on the year.

Columbia vs. Bucknell
Potential Lineup125 – Columbia’s Penn Gottfried will
look to rebound after suffering a pair of losses at the Cal Poly Duals, one at
125 pounds and the other at 133. At 125 pounds, Gottfried is 5-7 on the season
with one major decision and one technical fall. Bucknell’s Austin Miller went
2-1 at the Virginia Duals to improve to 8-6 overall and 6-4 in dual
competition. Miller pinned ODU’s Jerome Robinson in 8:28, and won a 3-1
decision over Buffalo’s Max Soria.

133 – Andrew
Grabfelder has wrestled just once this season in a Columbia uniform, falling to
Rutgers’ Vincent Dellefave, 6-1. The senior from Collegeville, Pa. has only
wrestled four times as a junior and senior since going 25-32 during his first
two seasons in Morningside Heights. Similar to Miller, Bucknell’s Paul Petrov
went 2-1 in Hampton, Va. last weekend, winning matches over ODU and Buffalo by
decision. Petrov is 11-8 on the year, but just 4-6 in dual matches.

141 – Two Lions
could be slotted into this weight class. Angelo Amenta began his collegiate
career with a fourth-place showing at the F&M Open on Jan. 5. Amenta went
5-2, notching his first pin and major decision at the tournament. Matt Bystol
went 1-2 in California, knocking off Cal Poly’s Brandan Rocha in an 8-1
decision. Bystol stands at 3-8 on the year. Bucknell’s Derek Russell fell to
8-12 this season after going 1-2 at the Virginia Duals. Russell’s lone victory
came over Buffalo’s Erik Galloway, 2-1.

149 – Coach
Fronhofer will slot either Ryan Ponte or No. 9/9 Steve Santos into this weight
class. Ponte competed at 149 for the first time this season at the F&M
Open, going 1-2. The one triumph came in the form of a 12-0 major decision over
UMBC’s Brian Samuels. Santos carries a 16-2 overall record on the year, but has
not competed since placing fourth at the Midlands. Bucknell’s Adam Healey went
1-2 at the Virginia Duals, helping the Bison beat Buffalo with a 6-2 win over
Andrew Schutt. Healey is 8-12 overall, but just 3-7 in dual matches.

157 – Jake O’Hara
remains nationally ranked, garnering the No. 18 spot in the most recent AWN and
Intermat polls. The Columbia senior last competed at the Midlands, going 3-2.
Chad Ryan could also compete for the Lions after going 1-1 at the Mustang
Duals. Ryan downed Kyle Chene from Cal Poly, 7-5, and is 4-3 this season.
Vincent Favia stands at 10-13 heading into Friday’s matchup. Favia went 0-3 at
the Virginia Duals, including losing matches to opponents from UVA and Buffalo
via technical fall.

165 – Josh
Houldsworth has put together an impressive 12-4 campaign to date. Houldsworth
went undefeated at the Cal Poly Duals and notched his third major fall of the
season. No. 9/9 Corey Lear wrestled just once at the Virginia Duals for
Bucknell, defeating ODU’s Brett Miller in a 1-0 decision. Lear is 17-3 this
season and 6-0 in dual matches.

174 – No. 17/-
Stephen West finds himself at 15-4 on the season after winning six of his last
eight matches. West was the most dominate Columbia wrestler at the Cal Poly
Duals, winning a pair of matches by fall and his third win was a 16-0 technical
fall over SF State’s AJ Simon. Bucknell’s Ray Schlitt was on the losing end of
all three of his matches at the Virginia Duals. Schlitt lost two of those
matches in major decisions and is 2-9 overall.

184 – Columbia’s
Drew Rebling is 6-11 this season after going 1-2 during the Lions’ West Coast swing.
Rebling is 3-3 in his last six matches, beating opponents from Northwestern,
CSU Bakersfield and SF State. Bucknell’s Robert Marchese has just three wins in
19 matches this season. Marchese went winless at the Virginia Duals, dropping a
major decision to Buffalo’s Mark Lewandowski.

197 – Nick Mills
is 11-7 this season for the Lions, winning a pair of matches at the Cal Poly
Duals. Mills locked up a 5-3 sudden victory over Cal Poly’s J.T. Goodwin and
then beat CSU Bakersfield’s Frankie Hurtado, 7-4. Tyler Lyster, equal to Favia,
has wrestled 23 times this season, earning a 14-9 record. Lyster went 1-2 at
the Virginia Duals, garnering a technical fall over Buffalo’s Jarred Lux.

285 – Columbia’s
Chris Manna improved to 5-9 overall after going 2-1 in California. Manna edged
SF State’s Richard Segovia, 6-5, and earned a forfeit win over Cal Poly. With
three wins at the Virginia Duals, Joe Stolfi is 10-11 this season. Stolfi’s two
wins by decision in Viriginia were both by one-point.